Mr Jones, who has previously suggested that money upgrading Britain’s broadband would be better spent on new roads, claimed the deprived or poor “do not live in rural Lancashire.”

“Much of Lancashire's rural hinterland is a playground for the wealthy,” he wrote on his blog.

Conservative-run Lancashire Council is investing £32million in upgrading broadband so that people living in the county’s countryside can access the web. Many farmers in the county, for instance, must submit paperwork to the Government online, but are currently unable to use the internet in their homes at all.

Mr Jones claimed, however, "The [investment] figures may be disputable but they also reflect my assumption that this is a 'rural Tory broadband issue' and it won't be cheap to maintain either."

"I look around the Ribble Valley and parts of Wyre and see a large population of retirees and wealthy escapees," wrote Mr Jones. "People whom it has to be said have made a choice to live away from urban areas, away from advantages of an urban area. There is no escaping the fact that these areas have vast numbers of wealthy people who will benefit enormously and who could afford to pay for super fast rural broadband themselves."

Mr Jones claimed the investment provided poor value for money and would create just 25 jobs.

Speaking in Parliament he also claimed “That £32 million will mean faster internet shopping for millionaires; it will not generate business in rural communities. White middle-class and upper-class areas will get the money and deprived, working-class areas will have money removed from them. It will not provide additional businesses or create jobs. This is just about faster internet shopping for wealthy people.”

Sarah Lee, Head of Policy for the Countryside Alliance, condemned the MP's attitude. "Graham Jones has criminally missed the point of these plans," she said. "In a digital age the need for fast and reliable broadband is just as important as the need for gas, electricity and water. People need to access more services online, especially critical Government services; businesses need the internet for growth; and much of everyday communication now occurs online.

In contrast to Mr Jones views, earlier this year shadow Culture Minister Harriet Harman criticised the Coalition for not doing enough to provide fast broadband to rural areas. "The Government can talk about ultra-fast and super-fast, hyper-fast and mega-fast, all (it) likes but what is happening is the creation of a digital underclass," she claimed.

Edwin Booth, Chairman of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said: "creating this network could be as important as the construction of the canals and railways was to the Industrial Revolution".

Mr Jones added "I am not against rural broadband per se or denying others but is this our priority for Government funding in austere times? £30m investment would surely be more beneficial in real infrastructure and ensuring businesses in urban are connected at 100mbps as in rival economies."

Mr Jones told the Telegraph that he was in favour of rural broadband, but wanted to see more of it delivered by private sector investment. “My concern is only Lancashire and value for money economic development,” he said. “I don’t know enough to comment about national rural broadband issues. Every area is different.” He claimed £4.7m in local Council Tax was being taken from the most deprived East Lancashire areas to fund the broadband scheme.